Nikki (incredulously): “Mom, we’re learning about racism at school. Can you believe I was the ONLY kid in the class who knew anything about the Ku Klux Klan? And the ONLY kid who knew that Martin Luther King had been assassinated?”
Sheesh! Aren’t those OTHER parents teaching their kids ANYTHING? (She says smuggly, knowing full well that her daughter’s love of history came from the OTHER parent in this relationship.)
1. Apparently all I needed to do to fill up my comment box was to say the word “dog” and people start coming out of the woodwork! Thanks for all the helpful advice! Julie will be thrilled. (And I’ll keep you posted.)
2. I’m a little ashamed of myself for not having made any effort to go over and meet the new neighbours who moved next door in November. My goal this weekend is to go say hello.
3. For those of you who miss her witty and “spit-beverages-at-your-screen” hilarious posts, I spoke with Whippersnapper this week. She is alive and well and just doesn’t have much brain power left after teaching and parenting to formulate posts. But she’s reading this one, so if you beg and plead in the comments, we may be able to convince her to come back. (Please, PUH-LEASE Whip! Just do what I do when I’m drained – type the first 13 random thoughts that pop into your head.)
4. I finally wrote something and submitted it to an editor yesterday. I don’t think I’ve managed to do that once in the last year, because all of my energy (and then some) was consumed with a crazy year at work. Even if it doesn’t get published, I’m just happy I’m back in the game.
5. Speaking of work, I updated my workplan last week (wherein I identify my progress on the goals I set a year ago) and MY GOSH I accomplished a lot last year! No WONDER I was completely exhausted by Christmas!
6. I didn’t put it on my workplan, but one of my goals this year is “friendship”. With all the craziness of last year, plus the ongoing craziness of parenting, I invested very little energy into friendship. This year, I’m making it a priority.
7. Remember the creativity retreat I was going to plan? Well, it got put on the back burner last fall (see #5 for the reason), but after I get back from India, I’m going to try to pull it together. One of the people who is eagerly anticipating it bugged me about it yesterday and I committed to her that I would follow through.
8. Did I mention that we managed to hire someone into the vacant position on my team? Woohoo!
9. The pieces are beginning to fall into place for my trip – one week in Bangladesh and one week in India. We have a weekend of spare time in between, where we’re flying from Dhaka to Kolkata to Patna. If anyone has been there, can you tell me which of those three places would be the most interesting to spend the weekend?
10. Either my daughters REALLY like muffins or they are so surprised to see mom suddenly bake that they’re humouring me just to make sure it happens again. Two batches disappeared faster than I could make more.
11. There’s a stack of about 300 receipt letters sitting on my desk waiting to be signed. I think I’ll have a sore wrist by the end of the day.
12. I love picking Nikki up after her practices with the developmental soccer team. She’s not normally very talkative, but there’s something about these practices (I think it has a lot to do with good, encouraging coaches) that turns her into an animated, chatty girl.
13. A year ago, I was in Ethiopia where it was SOooo warm. Unfortunately, around here this week, it’s SOOooo cold.
It’s no secret that I’m not much of a pet lover. At best, I’m a pet tolerator. It’s not that I have NEVER loved a pet. Oh I could wax poetic about how I used to love to ride our beautiful and fast horse, Prince. I could probably even conjure up tears – or at least a lump in my throat – if I thought long and hard about what it was like to lose Curly, our longtime family dog. And I remember with fondness what fun it used to be to hunt for the new kittens on the farm, when we were certain Snappy had given birth to yet another litter.
But in my adult years, I have never wanted a pet. I have to be honest – caregiving is not one of my greatest skills. I’m just happy I managed to keep three kids alive – I’m not sure I want to have the survival of yet another creature (that’s not even part of my bloodline) reliant on me for its care.
And yet… here’s the really scary part… are you ready for it? We are considering getting a dog. Yeah, let that sink in for awhile.
You see, if I don’t consider it, Julie may go through life believing I am an ogre of a parent, depriving her of her heart’s desire all these years. And I’m not sure I want to live with that legacy. (Though if she starts asking me to help provide the kind of pet care Michele has had to live with in the last couple of years, I think I’ll stick with being an ogre.)
Julie’s Christmas list looked something like this:
books
DOG
clothes
DOG
games
DOG
You get the picture.
She has become obsessed with this singular goal in life. At Christmas time I told her “well, if we were to get a dog, it wouldn’t be in the dead of winter. Ask me again in the Spring.” And then I told her, “if this is something you’re serious about, then you need to do some research to find the right breed of dog for our family – one that won’t shed and mess with your dad’s allergies, one that won’t require constant attention and frequent exercise, that’s good with kids, etc.”
Well, since she heard that tiny offering of hope, she has done little else but research dogs. She is fast becoming an encyclopedia of dog breeds. At first, she wanted an American Eskimo, but that long hair looks like it would end up all over the house (keep in mind that this is a girl who doesn’t even like to brush her OWN hair, so I’m not convinced she’d do the weekly grooming required.) Then she began to set her sites on a Pug.
So, here’s the thing… I know alot of you are fond of pets. In fact, I think that among my blog readership, I am seriously outnumbered in my lack of deep affection for pets. So I need your advice…
1. What would be the best breed of dog for a family like ours, that tends to be a little on the lazy and “less-than-meticulous” side? (I need a non-shedder who’s okay with not being walked half a dozen times a day.)
2. Which breeds are good with children?
3. What’s the one thing you wish you’d known before committing to having a dog around the house?
4. Is it possible to have a dog trained well enough that it can go 8 hours without having to go outside? I’m really not interested in a pet that will dramatically impact our schedules.
And speaking of pets, hearing Andrea talk about her love for her recently-departed dog Zappa has definitely given me moments when I’ve thought “hmmm… I wonder what it would be like to love a pet like that?” You really should check out her new painting of Zappa. I love it when she shows the progress a painting goes through before the final product emerges.
I have a new little nephew hoping to be born in a few months. His name is Jack. I saw his ultrasound picture today – his curved head and his round belly and what looked like bubbles being blown from his mouth. I also saw his undeniable male-hood. (Apparently he’s not as shy about showing off his private parts as his cousin Matthew was.)
We pray for Jack’s safe journey into this world. We pray for a miracle. We pray for continued hope. Please pray with us. We need a boy in the family – a boy who will live and live well. Who will tease his sisters and cousins. And make his daddy grin.
Here’s the beginning of Jack’s story – a story we hope will be long and interesting.
I had ideas for posts last night, but then a phone call came that wiped everything else from my mind. A few hours later, when I finally had a moment alone on a computer, what came spilling out was this…
Lament
hands lost in soapy water
I glimpse the reflection in the window
a face that looks older than it did
an hour ago
before your call
tears dripping
I scrub pots and pans
and wish
the stain etched on your hope
washed away as easily
as the remnants of today’s supper
p.s. The story is not mine to share, but if you are the praying type, whisper a prayer for pain unspoken.